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With the numbers of G.I. Joe titles going down, it’s a rare thing that we get two issues in a single week featuring G.I. Joe, but we get that this week with A Real American Hero #214 and Transformers vs. G.I. Joe #7.

A Real American Hero deals with the aftermath of Snake Eyes’ death in what appears to be a very somber and understated way, though anything can change after the first five pages…

Check out the previews and descriptions below.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #214—The Death of Snake Eyes, Part 3

Larry Hama (w) • S L Gallant (a & c)

The end of the road for SNAKE EYES… The events of this issue will change G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero forever!

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:

THE DEATH OF A HERO!

Variant Sketch Cover by Larry Hama!

Transformers vs G.I. JOE #7

Tom Scioli & John Barber (w) • Scioli (a & c)

THE WORLD AS THEY MAKE IT! Alliance are forged! Enemies are enraged! The war burns on Earth and Cybertron! And now… now the real battle begins.

Over the past few months we’ve been seeing some inkling of what this issue might shape up to be, and you can tell it’s something that will most likely be either loved or hated, depending on personal preference. When you go headlong with such a unique artistic style, you’re going to necessarily alienate some folks who aren’t fans of that style, but at the same time, you hope to latch onto folks who appreciate it and perhaps reel in some others who might not otherwise check out a “licensed toy book”.

From my limited exposure to the general comic populace, I think they’ve succeeded. I’ve seen many non-G.I. Joe focused comic sites and trade publications praising the work done in Transformers and G.I. Joe #0, which I think is a great thing for the brand at large.

But as a diehard G.I. Joe fan (who also dabbles a bit in Transformers) what did I think? My opinions after the jump.

Free Comic Day is fast approaching, and Comics Alliance took some time to talk to IDW Editor John Barber and writer Tom Scioli about the upcoming new ongoing Transformers and G.I. Joe title.

Interspersed throughout the interview are some pretty neat looking preview pages of the upcoming title, with lots of great detail about the process both Barber and Scioli are using in sketching out their plan for the book.

Since the Marvel days, there’s been this inherent desire for Hasbro’s two flagship properties, G.I. Joe and Transformers to somehow work together or co-exist in the same universe. They’ve crossed over many times throughout Marvel, Devil’s Due, and even Dreamwave, but as of yet IDW Publishing has not “crossed the streams”. Well, next summer that all changes, but IDW is going even one step further. While previous iterations of the crossover were all specific limited series, this new IDW title will be ongoing.

That’s a very interesting tact to take and one I’m pretty excited about to be honest. I recently caught up with the IDW Transformers universe, and I’ve been extremely impressed by what they’ve done with the characters. Seeing John Barber (co-writing alongside Tom Scioli) take some of those elements and bring them in direct conflict with G.I. Joe? Yeah, I can get into that.

IDW is careful to explain that this is a wholly separate continuity from the current existing G.I. Joe and Transformers universes, but regardless I’m really excited to see where this might go. It’s a cool homage, too, considering Transformers celebrates their 30th Anniversary next year while the G.I. Joe brand celebrates it’s 50th. A great way to tie the two properties together.

IDW’s change in direction for the G.I. Joe title in 2013 continues to be a hot topic in the G.I. Joe community and the guys over at The Comix Verse have posted a terrific interview with IDW Editor John Barber about what to expect going forward with G.I. Joe.

The interview covers many different bases, and like my talk with Fred Van Lente we find out that this new G.I. Joe team is still very military oriented at their core, and these somewhat flashy uniforms have a distinct purpose within the confines of the G.I. Joe universe.

It’s a great interview, and for folks concerned about the new comic, you should check it out ASAP.

Call me an addict if you want, but dammit I need my G.I. Joe: Retaliation fix!! It seemed for a while there like we were getting some stuff from G.I. Joe: Retaliation on a weekly basis, but it’s dropped off somewhat (beyond the press photos). My hunger for Retaliation news pretty much forced me to jump on and immediately consume issue #3 of the G.I. Joe: Retaliation movie prequel by John Warden, Salvadore Navarro, and Atilio Rojo…I’m really glad I did.

No mere movie adaptation here, Barber has elected to travel backwards in time a little bit and tell us some real origins of some of the Retaliation crew. Click the read the rest of the story link below for the full review.

Tomorrow is new comic day, and a pair of new G.I. Joe themed comics are hitting your local comic store. G.I. Joe: Retaliation #3 continues the pre-movie adventures of Roadblock and Snake Eyes, while G.I. Joe: Cobra #11 puts a bow on the thrilling Cobra Command story arc.

Check out the 5-page previews below and don’t forget to hit up your LCS to pick up those issues!

The folks behind The Comix Verse are friends of the site and are making a push to bring their network of sites into the mainstream…doing a great job of it, too. They’ve posted a very good and enlightening interview with IDW editor John Barber, who is one of the guys editing the G.I. Joe stable of titles, and also the writer of the impressive G.I. Joe: Retaliation Prequel limited series. He lets loose some insight about what might be coming after Cobra Command, and the interview even showcases some nice preview pages!

It seemed like just two weeks ago that the first issue of the G.I. Joe: Retaliation prequel hit… mostly because it was. Wasting no time, IDW plans to continue their operations in the G.I. Joe: Retaliation timeline this coming Wednesday with their second issue.

And like with the first, an online site has a sneak preview! This time around it’s i09.com and you can check out the first handful of pages from the Retaliation prequel #2 right here.

I just checked them out, and… I’m interested! I thought the first issue was fine, but nothing mind-blowing. The second issue, though, looks like it ties Mainframe and Roadblock’s backstory together nicely. And holy crap Sky Sweeper! LOVE IT.

I’ve mirrored one of the pages below, be sure to hit up i09.com for the rest.

If you’re anything like me, you’re absolutely itching to get invested in the G.I. Joe: Retaliation universe. With so many questions left open from the Rise of Cobra, and such an excitement surrounding this new universe, I for one cannot wait to read more about it.

Well, IDW has come through, as they usually do, with a movie prequel mini-series! The first issue just hit, and you can click the Read The Rest of the Story link below for the full review.